^18:18Now⁵⁵ a certain ruler⁵⁶ asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”⁵⁷^18:19Jesus⁵⁸ said to him, “Why do you call me good?⁵⁹ No one is good except God alone. ^18:20You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’ ”⁶⁰^18:21The man⁶¹ replied, “I have wholeheartedly obeyed⁶² all these laws⁶³ since my youth.”⁶⁴^18:22When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have⁶⁵ and give the money⁶⁶ to the poor,⁶⁷ and you will have treasure⁶⁸ in heaven. Then⁶⁹ come, follow me.”

Read in Logos

Footnotes

55 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
56 Only Luke states this man is a ruler (cf. the parallels in Matt 19:16–22 and Mark 10:17–22, where the questioner is described only as “someone”). He is probably a civic leader of some kind, a leader in the society.
57 The rich man wanted to know what he must do to inherit eternal life, but Jesus had just finished teaching that eternal life was not earned but simply received (18:17). See the similar question about inheriting eternal life in Luke 10:25.
58 Grk “And Jesus.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
59 Jesus’ response, Why do you call me good?, was designed to cause the ruler to stop and think for a moment about who Jesus really was. The following statement No one is good except God alone seems to point the man in the direction of Jesus’ essential nature and the demands which logically follow on the man for having said it.
60 A quotation from Exod 20:12–16 and Deut 5:16–20. Jesus cited the parts of the ten commandments that relate to how others should be treated.
61 Grk “And he”; the referent (the ruler mentioned in v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
62 Grk “kept.” The implication of this verb is that the man has obeyed the commandments without fail throughout his life, so the adverb “wholeheartedly” has been added to the translation to bring out this nuance.
63 Grk “these things.” The referent of the pronoun (the laws mentioned by Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. While the rich man was probably being sincere when he insisted I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws, he had confined his righteousness to external obedience. The rich man’s response to Jesus’ command to give away all he had revealed that internally he loved money more than God.
64 Since my youth. Judaism regarded the age of thirteen as the age when a man would have become responsible to live by God’s commands.
66 The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
68 The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: … you will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1–10.
69 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the conversation.

Cross references

65 See Luke 14:33.
67 See Luke 1:50–53; 6:20–23; 14:12–14.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”

“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

A ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and mother.”

“I have kept all these from my youth,” he said.

When Jesus heard this, he told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell all you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

NLTNew Living Translation

Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.’”

The man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And a certain ruler asked him, saying, “Good Teacher, by doing what will I inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’ ” And he said, “All these I have observed from my youth.” And when he heard this, Jesus said to him, “You still lack one thing: Sell all that you have, and distribute the proceeds to the poor—and you will have treasure in heaven—and come, follow me.”

KJV 1900King James Version

And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

Public Domain